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<div class="moz-text-html" lang="x-western"> A very interesting
discussion indeed. I'd like to address a number of the points that
have been raised.<br>
<br>
--<br>
<br>
1. Should Linux Aus Council have consulted before granting the Ada
Initiative $AUD 5k of funds?<br>
<br>
No. The Council, who stand for election every year, have
executive authority over how funds of Linux Australia are
dispersed. We expect them to undertake appropriate due diligence,
as is evident in the grants application process. A donation is a
slightly different affair, however I am confident members of
Council, either through personal association with Mary and
Valerie, or having the professional networks to vet both, have
been able to make a professional assessment of their credentials,
track record and demonstrated commitment to both the F/LOSS
community and the participation of women within it. <br>
<br>
As members of Linux Australia, if we believe Council has erred in
judgement, we can always vote them out at the next election. I
also note from the minutes of the Council meeting that during
voting on the grant, there was one abstention - I am assuming this
was Mary abstaining on the basis of perceived conflict of interest
in the outcome. If so, this is honourable behaviour.<br>
<br>
If Council consulted on *every* grant or donation, it would simply
be unworkable. The only gap I see is that guidelines don't exist
for donations, which has been duly acknowledged, and something
which I'm sure Council will remedy in time.<br>
<br>
--<br>
<br>
2. Is the Ada Initiative a worthwhile organisation to grant $AUD5k
to?<br>
<br>
We have no way of knowing for certain in advance. We must
therefore examine the evidence to determine the likelihood of an
investment such as this yielding an outcome in line with Linux
Australia's stated goals, mission (and values statement -
different discussion!). Ada Initiative has a stated, public
commitment to improving the participation of women in free and
open culture and in assisting organisations to also achieve this
goal. It is clearly distinguished from other women in computing
groups and has a unique mission. <br>
<br>
The listed projects, while not defined in detail, provide enough
information as to the focus and priorities of Ada Initiative - all
of which are in line with Linux Australia's goals of promoting
Linux, and other F/LOSS.<br>
<br>
Essentially, the answer here, on the balance of probabilities, is
yes. <br>
<br>
--<br>
<br>
3. Last, but not least, what problem are we trying to solve and
what references are available?<br>
<br>
There are a number of problems centred around the participation of
women in ICT roles which the Ada Initiative will help to address -
most of which have been the subject of at least some empirical
research. These include;<br>
<br>
- the lack of transition from studying computing and maths in
primary school to secondary and tertiary, and postgraduate
education. Women 'give up' on computing and maths<br>
- the lack of positive female role models that girls and young
women can aspire to in computing and mathematics<br>
- negative associations held by women and girls about computing
and mathematics careers<br>
- barriers to succeeding and progressing if an ICT career is
adopted, such as more difficulty building peer networks due to
male-dominated cultures, feelings of 'unbelonging' and difficulty
identifying with mentors<br>
<br>
A request for references was made, but I think it would be rather
sly of me to simply dump Endnote's contents into this forum. A few
noted selections are below;<br>
<br>
"Athena Unbound: The advancement of women in science and
technology"<br>
Etzkowitz, Kemelbor and Uzzi<br>
This is an excellent tome on the topic, and shows how there is a
funnel effect - women 'drop out' of science, tech, engineering and
maths careers at different points, for different reasons - which
all need to be addressed. For instance, a woman is less likely to
make tenure track if she has children, and is more likely to drop
out of university if she feels isolated in her computer science
classes.<br>
<br>
"<span style="font-size: 10.5pt; font-family:
"sansserif","serif";">Women and information
technology : research on underrepresentation</span>"<br>
<br>
This edited book contains many chapters, each addressing a
particular issue;<br>
<br>
Lecia J. Barker and William Aspray show how many stereotypes from
computing professions send very strong gendered messages. Computer
'geeks' are also unpopular - therefore studying computing makes
you socially unpopular and is therefore a detractor. <br>
<br>
Barker and Snow go on to question why computing is not mandatory
in middle school years, and also question why IT is not promoted
in a way that shows consistency with the belief set and values of
girls - which may entice more women into IT.<br>
<br>
Cohoon and Aspray state that "Almost 30 years of efforts have
failed to produce a sustained increase in women's participation in
computing" (p. 140) - due to a lack of understanding of the
causes, and where known, lack of intervention to remedy them. This
is the standout chapter of the book and outlines a number of
reasons why women are not queuing up for IT jobs;<br>
<br>
- Culture of computing - is very masculine, and can be foreign and
daunting for women. The authors question whether this is a cause
of fewer women in IT, or simply an effect of having fewer women in
IT in the first place. They note that sub-fields of IT - such as
information systems or media - have more women - *and* a different
culture.<br>
<br>
- Experience - Experience with computers prior to entry to
university is correlated both with higher confidence and success.
Men and women appear to have smilar exposure to basic IT
functions, but women has less exposure to programming and advanced
graphics (p.151)<br>
<br>
- Entry barriers - The authors show how certain admissions tests
or entry requirements can implicitly favour men, and how changing
bridging or entry pathways to ICT could be beneficial for women. <br>
<br>
- Curricula - There are two schools of thought here - that the
content of computer science courses needs to change to appeal more
to women, or that the perceptions of ICT as a profession need to
change so that it fits more closely with womens' values - such as
showing how ICT can play a role in social progress (I can hear
Pia's speech on 'This is how I change the world - wanna join me?'
echoing as I write this). <br>
<br>
- Role models - If teachers and faculty are female, retention of
female students is more likely (p.159)<br>
<br>
- Confidence - Women more consistently rate their abilities more
negatively than equally competent male counterparts (p. 167).
women are also generally less socialised to compete - but are more
fairly represented in other competitive fields such as medicine -
so this cannot be the only factor for under-representation.<br>
<br>
- Pedagogy - the jury is still out on this one, but there is
*some* evidence to show that women have different learning styles,
in general, to men, and may prefer methods such as pair
programming. <br>
<br>
<br>
I could go on. Suffice to say - there is not one problem of
representation of women in computing and F/LOSS - but many - and
the Ada Initiative is helping to solve, rather than widen, these
problems.<br>
<br>
Congratulations Mary and Valerie on a great initiative.<br>
<br>
Kind regards,<br>
Kathy<br>
<br>
<br>
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